Maersk Oil to develop $4.5B North Sea gas field off Britain

Maersk Oil working with JX Nippon, BP on North Sea project

maersk oil
Maersk Oil says the Culzean field located in the North Sea has an estimated 250 to 300 million barrels of oil.  Maersk Oil photo.

HELSINKI _ Maersk Oil says it has permission from British authorities to develop a gas field off the British coast in the largest find in the North Sea in a decade.

The Danish company said Monday the Culzean field, discovered in 2008, has an estimated 250 to 300 million barrels of oil equivalent, or enough to produce about 5 per cent of Britain’s total gas demand at peak production in 2020-2021.

Jakob Thomasen, CEO of Maersk Oil said “Culzean is the latest in a series of large investments by Maersk Oil in the North Sea where we are active in Denmark, Norway and the UK – reflecting our commitment to the future of the North Sea region.”

Production is expected to start in 2019 and continue for at least 13 years.

”Maersk Oil and partners’ £3 billion investment to develop the Culzean discovery is excellent news for the UK during a period when the decline in global oil prices has created difficult operating conditions for this critical sector of our economy” said Andy Samuel, Chief Executive of the Oil & Gas Authority.

Maersk Oil, JX Nippon and BP (Britoil) are investing $4.5 billion in the development.

The Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rt Hon George Osborne MP said, “Today’s announcement sends a clear signal that the North Sea is open for business. Already the UK’s oil and gas industry supports hundreds of thousands of jobs across the country and this £3 billion investment comes on the back of massive government support for the sector. “

With files from The Canadian Press